Ever burned the roof of your mouth before?

February 7, 2005, 12:42 AM

Ever done that, where you burn the roof of your mouth eating food that’s a little too hot? I did that last night. We had pizza, and it was just a little too piping hot to eat, but I ate anyway. The first bite was just like, “WOW!” on the heat index.

So it was pretty evident that I’d burned my mouth on that hot pizza. And as expected, it was numb afterwards, as the heat from the pizza probably burned off all the nerve endings over there.

The next day is when the fun begins, though. By the day after, all the nerve endings and such related to sensation have healed, and so now you can feel the burned area again. And it’s still sensitive from the burn. And it’s not even a “pain” kind of feeling. It’s more of a tingly feeling, if you know what I mean. It’s weird.

I highly do not recommend trying to find out for yourself. Trust me on this one. Plus, in the course of life, you, too, will eat something that’s too hot and burn your mouth.

And also, this is a distinctly different feeling from when I’ve burned my tongue in the past, usually on hot soup or hot coffee. Burning the roof of your mouth is a different, more intense feeling. But it’s still quite similar as well. And still a weird feeling nonetheless.